Ja received a 30 game suspension for the incident involving the gun.
He didn't really know if he was expecting to miss the first 10-15 weeks of the NBA season. It wasn't ideal and he wasn't handling it well, but Ja couldn't do anything about it. He'd made the mistake and was reaping the consequences.
Ja didn't understand, to he honest. There were people who had done worse with no punishment, but at the end of the day, the commissioner made the choice to give the punishment he gave him.
The suspension didn't effect him right away but it would when training camp started. In a few weeks, the summer league started and he was suspended from being there as well. He was exempt from all team activities.
"So, you not playing basketball no more?" Kaari asked.
"Daddy still playin' basketball this year." Ja tried explaining. "Not til' after Christmas, though."
Kaari made a face similar to what Ja would make. "Why?"
Ja licked over his lips. "Daddy did sum' he shouldn't have did and he got in trouble."
"Like when I mess wif' Mommy's make up?"
The guard squinted before shaking the thoughts away. "Yeah."
Truth be told, Ja was already thinking about alcohol.
After getting the lengthy suspension placed on him, the guard took the flight back to Tennessee with Malia to be with his daughter. He allowed himself about 4 hours of stress and regret before saying 'fuck it' and thinking of bars to visit.
"Niya!"
TeNiya Morant was like and unlike Ja in many different ways.
Obviously, they looked like twins. Niya was Ja with eyelashes and that was something neither of them could deny. She was also very, very good at basketball. You could say it ran in the family somehow.
As far as where they differed, TeNiya was outgoing and vocal. Ja was not unless it was basketball related or apparently, gun related. He wasn't even close.
"Yeah." Niya came downstairs and set her feet at the bottom step.
"You gon' watch Kaari fa' me?"
"No." She shook her head as soon as he spit the favor out, already knowing what his intentions were. "Hell no."
Ja pursed his lips. "Why not?"
TeNiya knew it would cut to her doing what he asked regardless of how stupid. She couldn't help it. Anyone with siblings would understand and she Niya happened to understand.
"Shouldn't you be trying to keep a low profile or sum' like that?" She asked, walking further into the living room. "Can't keep getting in trouble 'cause of you."
"Don't worry 'bout allat." Ja shook his head. "You gon' do it or what?"
His younger sister nodded, still skeptical. "What about Lia? She finna be pissed if you find out you went and did that."
"That's why we not tellin' her." The guard sat Kaari on the couch. "Kaari, TT finna watch you while Daddy go see Tyus' dad."
Kaari was still a child so she didn't quite understand the concept of both Tyus Jr. and his father having the same name. Tyus Jr. was one of Kaari's little friends and they hung out fairly often so she only knew Tyus Jr. as Tyus. She knew Tyus Sr. as Dad's teammate.
Ja went to the only place he knew he wouldn't be recognized.
Follies.
The guard knew Malia was at home in bed because that's where he'd left her when he saw her earlier today. She hated planes and was probably jet lagged so she'd be in bed until at least tomorrow.
